Olympic wrangling

I think the new iron/protein pills are working because I had tons of energy at work and was able to push through a bunch of stuff quickly for the first six hours without a break.  I was trying to time my supper break with the womens' 10000 meter race, and not knowing the exact air time, I worked like blazes in between periodic TV checks.

Well, it wasn't aired at all because some African winning a race, and other Africans placing 2nd-3rd-4th-5th, means pitiful advertising dollars for NBC even though Tirunesh Dibaba won the 5000 meter and 10000 meter races in Beijing and ultimately is a joy to watch because of her breathtakingly fluid running form.   Hopefully she gets to run the 5000 meter race this year: apparently, there is still some wiggle room in the Ethiopian team selection.

Anyway, buoyed by my successful selection of a new non-buggy server (hello, BBC!), I got on the TM and ran an amazing first 20 minutes.  Not only did I slip into an efficient form right off the bat, but I was able to shift slightly within that form and experiment without losing it, while maintaining an exquisite economy of having to move only a couple of tiny little scraps of hip flexor.  Everything else felt weightless.  Even my footfalls were airy.  At times I felt a connection with my core.  Usually it takes me at least 15 minutes to warm up, and I cannot hang onto good form more than a few minutes or so.

Unfortunately, my treadmill doesn't have a water bottle holder deep enough to be practical, and I try not to go more than 20ish minutes without water in this weather, and so I stopped to drink and it took me at more than 20 minutes afterward to get close to the form I had before--finally, I was close (endorphins helped by this point) and I decided to see how it would feel to run 7 miles, if I could improve my form, regain the one I had at the beginning, etc, etc, and I did.  I floated to 76 minutes exactly.

I would like to try to run at least 75 minutes once a week, as a not-hard run, meaning that one of my other workouts will be tempo intervals, and if I do a real long run, that won't count either, maybe.  It's time to regain my relaxing 80ish min runs.

Afterward, I did resistance workouts.  My left hamstring was starting to feel tight and I find that deadlifts can loosen up that sort of thing, plus I should do these resistance exercises at least once a week.

Another successful week done!

Ah, I did

My last post jinxed the afternoon weather at least.  It wasn't hot, but it was heavy because the rains didn't return, and my breathing was constrained for the first couple of hours at work until the superior air filtration system there worked its magic.   I also have mouth cankers again so probably there's some wheat dust in the mix--there's absolutely nothing else that could account for those.  I haven't eaten anything new except for the new protein-iron pills that don't contain gluten, and the only takeout I have eaten this week was prepared by a cook and restaurant owner who also has a gluten issue.  Also, there's a cold going round at work, and I think I have it.  I slept through my husband's alarm and departure and woke up at 10 am, highly unusual for me on weekdays although that is close to my regular wake up time on weekends when I return to a monophasic sleep schedule.

So, I wasn't feeling too great this morning and I decided to call it a rest day, but today's the first day of Olympic track coverage, and I watched a prelim women's 400M round and felt inspired to try the newest zwow workout.  After all, working out can beat mild colds by creating an artificial fever.  And #28 didn't have an off-putting 'buy-in'.  It was a neat workout although there was a lateral movement element that took a while to get the hang of, but I think this might be something I'll do more often.  Thank you, and well done, Sanya Richards-Ross!

rain

And possibly more rain to come.

The infrequency of rain has hardened the dog's already formidable intolerance of sprinkles, and I didn't have the courage to tackle the hills outside on my own, so I ran in the discomfort of my own home.  I was fatigued as usual, but the air seemed better than normal, so I got the weekly tempo workout done: 5 X 6 min, with 1 min jogs in between.

70 minutes, 6.99 miles (okay, I walked to 7)...BUT my treadmill, the capricious flirt, wasn't content with wavering within a 0.4 mph spread as usual (just the displayed speed flits about and the belt speed stays constant, thank goodness), and the odometer dropped from 4.4X miles to 4.1X.  Just like that, a little electronic burp.   I was cheated more than usual.  I really ran 7.3ish miles.

Does it matter?  It's not like I'm actually going anywhere.  My displacement is actually zero.

I ordered a new type of protein/iron supplement.  Though I feel I've fully recovered because I have no more pain, I still felt more drained after slacking off the iron pills recently, and though I've been on my usual regimen for at least two weeks since, I'm still feeling a deficit.  So I decided to try something new.   It doesn't help that I usually feel drained in hot weather anyway.    But, shhhh, the temperature right now is actually below 30 C.  It's supposed to go up to 36 C, and the humidex is in the low 30s, but I might actually get to bike to work in 29 C (I'm still going to walk my bike up the steepest part until the humidex is at least below 30 C too).  And Sunday's high might only be

Mustn't jinx things too much!

Goodbye, July!

August, so far, is still too hot for my dog.  We walked about 1.5 miles this morning and he was wilting on the last block or two.  The air was thick and hazy, but it was a bit overcast and so I'd thought that he'd be ok.   He was glad to be out for most of the walk.

And then I jogged on the treadmill for 20 minutes, 1.75 miles.  I felt fatigued, but I'm trying to be tougher in general, and I figured I could really use a short recovery jog.  Immersed in the pulsing timbres of A Night on Tape, I loosened up a few knots in my quads that were probably tightened by yesterday's sumo lifts.

yesterday's tease

The humidity dropped but the cloud cover remained, and it was actually pleasant walking around later in the morning and biking to work in the afternoon.   It was still warm, but low 30s C is just warm these days.  It felt like a turning point, the end of a ghastly experience.  I've been in hotter places, but these were also much more interesting places.  This town's chief charm is moderation, not too big, not too small, some conveniences here, some boredom there, a bit of noise here, some solitude there....it's surprisingly nice for a small army town, and nice overall.  But once the weather and thus everything having to do with being outside or going outside became decidedly un-nice, there wasn't much left.  Yesterday, I was walking around and actually enjoying being here again.  I'd forgotten how that felt!

Unfortunately, that was yesterday.  But today isn't so bad.  There are still clouds and the chance of rain, and the highs aren't too much higher.  Is it too early to tell if we are in Summer's taper?  Tomorrow will be August.  I soon can shove the 2nd hottest but most miserable (it beat Virginia) July of my life into the past, and I hope that this August won't also be such an overachiever.

I feel almost broken down again--it's kind of funny how I alternate between feeling busted and feeling infuriated--but I ran 1.5 miles on the treadmill then did Zwow #5.  I looked at #27 but the "buy-in", 3 minutes of squats, turned me off again.  And I like squats!   I'm still evaluating why the buy-in concept repulses me so much.  It's not like I'm actually paying an additional unofficial fee to secure some service that shouldn't require it...I'm actually not even paying for the workouts.  I guess "buy-in" has descended into the same category as "administrative fee" and "handling charge" in my estimation.

So I figured that, heck, I'll at least pick my own buy-in: 1.5 miles on the treadmill.  Empowered by choice, I pushed harder than I have before with this workout and completed five rounds for the first time, although I was working from memory and might have left out a 4th exercise.

thank you, clouds

It was overcast this morning, which has become unusual.  I considered it an invitation.   The cloud cover made conditions muggy: the humidex was about 36C even though the temp was about ten degrees lower.  It smelled like wet dead vegetation outside.  But there was no roasting sunshine!

The dog and I walked about 1.5 miles.  We checked out the creek for the first time in about a month and, as I'd expected, it's now a series of stagnant ponds, some smelling of dead fish, some not, but all of them too gross for him to enter--rather, for me to let him enter.  His standards are lower and he doesn't consider consequences.

Then I did zwow #12.  I'm not sure if pistols got easier or if I got lazier, but I kept having to remind myself to go lower until I felt certain muscles engage.   My energy level this morning is quite low and I seem to be dehydrated even though I was drinking a lot of water yesterday.  I did spend a fair bit of time in the sauna outside, though: three rounds of bake-cold shower-rest over a couple of hours.  Guess I underestimated how much I was sweating.  It felt nice and relaxing, at any rate.

I don't want to jinx the weather forecast, but it's looking like the rest of the week will be like today, please, please, please.

bad air, bad attitude

Man, this blog is swirling down and down.  Sorry.  I have cabin fever and a deep set dislike of this place that is tunnelling steadily deeper.  I was outside for about a half hour this morning, watering valiant plants and feeding the fish and the dog (he is enjoying his breakfasts al fresco these days), and the air felt thick and dirty even then.   Now it's 37C and still rising, the humidex is somewhere around 40, and the temps will be like this for the next 10 days, and I seem to have lost my appetite.  Fortunately, I have protein and iron supplements.  LOL

I got onto the treadmill and, since my breathing is already slightly uncomfortable, I managed to find an "easy" pace at about 6.2 mph after warming up.  It wasn't going to be any easier, and actually this pace is approaching one of my mechanically easier paces, about 8:15/mile outside.   I bumped the TM up to almost tempo pace, at 6.4ish mph, and held that for 20+ minutes until my breathing started to feel too constricted, although I was still breathing at a relaxed rate and feeling mechanically super smooth.  Then I dropped back to about 6.0 mph and tried to loosen up and shove down the slight panic that lurks beneath constrained breath.  No, I didn't lose control of it!  I'm not sure flirting with this margin is healthy, and I'm still feeling the effects (drinking hot tea seems to be helping).  If it gets above 40C, and it might, I may go outside because that tends to open up my lungs and make me feel better too.

Total run in one hour: 6.06 miles.   This run felt similar to a marathon-pace run, and it was kind of fun because it was mechanically easier than slower paces, and seeing the numbers go by a bit quicker was a psychological lift.   It's probably not beneficial to run at this sort of pace all of the time, but once a week should be fine.    Maybe it could count as one of those slower and longer tempo runs.  At this (low) point in my training, any hour-long run is better than none, and I got over the lazy Sunday hump that has been cropping up recently.